Thoughts on purchasing hunting land in CO

[jm5]

Long time stalker of this forum, first post.

I'm fortunate enough to have a little extra money laying around and I've been thinking about purchasing some land primarily for the purposes of hunting. I have a young family, so I like the idea of keeping it in the family for years to come.

I've been browsing across Colorado and Nebraska. I've only hunted public land.

I've been a bit torn on assessing the pros/cons of this purchase and was hoping to get some insight from land owners out there (or folks who decided against it). This would be something around 160 - 250 acres.

Pros:

• Few/no other hunters. The obvious benefit.
• LPP program is nice.
• Opportunity to "shape" the land.
• Recreational use outside of hunting
• Option for small income stream (ranching lease, maybe hunting leases)
• Possibility of land appreciation.

Cons:

• Taxes, fence upkeep.
• Land improvements (which is a bit elusive to me - I'm guessing this amounts to a few watering holes at a minimum?)
• Possibility of land depreciation.
• Ending up with land that proves to not be productive for hunting.

I like the idea of building a small cabin/structure. However, I've found it challenging to find land across CO/NE (in MY price range) that looks to be in a productive GMU and containing a good amount of rich landscape for recreation outside of hunting (e.g., forest and waterways). A lot of what I've found (in my price range) is ranch-like open grass spaces or sagebrush. Could be alright for hunting deer/antelope, but a bit limited on the general family recreation front.

Anyway - just curious if anyone has mulled over similar thoughts.

 

[camelcluch]

Colorado is actively trying to ban hunting. The governor and his husband hate hunting. The commission is appointed by the governor and have followed suit. They are limiting resident archery hunters or at least trying too for 2025.
They just passed a bunch of gun laws that violate constitutional rights and band dozens of companies to be sold in the state.
Are you sure you want to buy in Commyrado?

 

[Hnthrdr]

I am a lifelong Co resident born and raised, it pains me to say this but Co is about the last place I would look to buy hunting land. NE isn’t a bad spot, I would likely look at WYO, MT, and ID as well.

Do you live full or part time in Co/ NE? Here are a few things to think about: how often will you visit if it is over 2 hours away? Up keep on roads/ fences? Taxes ? Ag status? If you put a bunk house or cabin, up keep on that? If you aren’t very close to it or don’t visit regularly, the locals might have a new honey hole…

 

[wildwilderness]

From what you are saying you have a limited budget. I would not buy land in Colorado for "western" big game like elk, mule deer, antelope unless you start talking sections of land (thousands of acres) which would be in the multiple of million$

Now your budget seems to fit a whitetail property just fine. They use much less area with small home ranges. You will also be able to actually make a difference with habitat improvements, and get away with a small dwelling unit on the property. I would look at least 160 acres if you want to shoot a couple deer a year.

Buying land is not cheap, nor the up keep especially with improvements. However if you are smart and buy in a proven area it will not depreciate. I would not buy grassland or sagebrush, but an area that already has deer and cover, the more the better. If you are buying for your personal hunting you will never lease it out, and maybe, MAYBE allow a friend to hunt once in a while if you have enough land and deer numbers.

 

[Ucsdryder]

4 posts and nobody has asked? How much $$$ we talking here? That’s going to make a big difference in your answers.

 

[Hnthrdr]

4 posts and nobody has asked? How much $$$ we talking here? That’s going to make a big difference in your answers.

I was trying to be polite haha let’s be honest any decent big game property in Co we are 500k plus and that won’t get you tags, but maybe 15-70 acres with decent NF access. You want the magical 160+ with good Habitat and water… we are closing in on 7 figures I would guess

 

[WCB]

Where do you live and how much recreation do you plan on doing? The size you are looking at imo is not enough for both...Unless you get really lucky animal wise.

Unless you can find something around that size connected or adjacent to public...recreate on public and hunt/hike/minor recreate on your private land. Amount you are willing to spend would help a ton.

 

[Ucsdryder]

You might be better off buying some bog in the Midwest and charging 7000 dollars for guys to come shoot ducks for 3 days.

 

[Hnthrdr]

To the Op if you want to chat feel free, I keep a pretty sharp eye on land, RE stuff in different parts of the state. Still dream of buying a place and building a dry cabin, but the wife likes to crush it on the reg haha so I don’t want to crush your dreams and may have some ideas for ya.

 

[TreeDux]

I tend to agree with pretty much everything that has been said. That’s a big enough piece of land to enjoy and pass down. In the right spot it can be enough to hold whitetails or possibly a few mule deer. Maybe a couple of turkeys and a covey of quail. Depending upon your location other big game could have a transient presence.
Absentee landowners have a host of issues to deal with these days and land ownership is seldom cheap in any regard. And 160 acres in semi arid/arid land probably won’t provide enough ranching income to cover your input. Active farmland that can be leased to a farmer is a different story.
With all that out of the way, it can be intensely rewarding to own your own ground. It’s a place to go and enjoy family time. Hopefully kill some deer and small game. Maybe even provide a refuge in retirement. There are plenty of reasons to buy land just be cautious and buy something you’re going to enjoy.
Having a water source will be beneficial. Having accessible public lands nearby would be good as well.
Lastly, as previously stated, the shine is wearing off of Colorado pretty quickly and it seems like there’s little hope of things turning around.

 

[Olympics777]

Just my opinion but unless you have very big money you’d be better off looking at the dakotas for hunting land. You can get 160 acres of slough/non agricultural land with cover that holds deer, birds and furbearers for a lot cheaper than the western states. If you want to elk hunt then 160 acres is nothing, you should be wanting a full section bare minimum. Even then it might not hold elk all the time, you’d just have to be lucky.

 

[MallardSX2]

Take the money that you would spend on that land, invest it and take the dividends and go on 2-3 week long hunting trips every single year.


Owning land isn’t what everyone thinks it’s cracked up to be.

 

[sndmn11]

At least for CO, I'd dig into the LPP numbers. 160 acres might not be attractive for hunting on, but it would be well worth it to grab an unrestricted voucher every year while still banking personal points in a unit that usually takes several.

 

[cnelk]

Colorado - Hard Pass

 

[camelcluch]

4 posts and nobody has asked? How much $$$ we talking here? That’s going to make a big difference in your answers.

My reply is the same for $1 or $10,000,000. Money doesn’t change what’s happening here.

 

[jm5]

Really great feedback here guys - thank you. Even the cynical stuff, I get it.

Budget is around $300K - yes, I've been look for several months now and I get it, that's not going to get me the forested acres adjacent to the Arkansas river (or any waterway for that matter). Even when you think you've got a little penny, man, it's wild to be reminded of what's out there.

Anyway - some of the land I've been looking at is adjacent to public lands (typically BLM). The points about holding elk and mule deer are well taken. I was thinking that being adjacent to public land, considering migration patterns, might give a bit of a hedge.

> Do you live full or part time in Co/ NE? Here are a few things to think about: how often will you visit if it is over 2 hours away?

Yes, definitely trying to keep this manageable for driving - ~3-4 hours from the front range. I hope it's something to pack the kids in the car for long weekends once we've got a primitive cabin setup. Maybe we end up building it ourselves. Which gets at my point about trying to think about multi-use. I think that's where you start to measure more value, when you can justify these other enjoyments besides using the land for a few hunts in the fall each year.

And like @wlidwilderness said above - I'm also hesitant on this cheap land in the sagebrush areas. The GMUs sometimes have good harvest stats, but... visiting a property out in the SW covered in sagebrush and cactus is a bit limited on multi-use (for my hobbies, at least).

One other interesting point made above... I have looked into the farm lease angle (mostly property out east, and in NE). Don't get me wrong, always up for learning new things, but that feels pretty challenging to nail down property with a farmer whereas ranching leases are rather straightforward.

 

[BWise5707]

Long time stalker of this forum, first post.

I'm fortunate enough to have a little extra money laying around and I've been thinking about purchasing some land primarily for the purposes of hunting. I have a young family, so I like the idea of keeping it in the family for years to come.

I've been browsing across Colorado and Nebraska. I've only hunted public land.

I've been a bit torn on assessing the pros/cons of this purchase and was hoping to get some insight from land owners out there (or folks who decided against it). This would be something around 160 - 250 acres.

Pros:

• Few/no other hunters. The obvious benefit.
• LPP program is nice.
• Opportunity to "shape" the land.
• Recreational use outside of hunting
• Option for small income stream (ranching lease, maybe hunting leases)
• Possibility of land appreciation.

Cons:

• Taxes, fence upkeep.
• Land improvements (which is a bit elusive to me - I'm guessing this amounts to a few watering holes at a minimum?)
• Possibility of land depreciation.
• Ending up with land that proves to not be productive for hunting.

I like the idea of building a small cabin/structure. However, I've found it challenging to find land across CO/NE (in MY price range) that looks to be in a productive GMU and containing a good amount of rich landscape for recreation outside of hunting (e.g., forest and waterways). A lot of what I've found (in my price range) is ranch-like open grass spaces or sagebrush. Could be alright for hunting deer/antelope, but a bit limited on the general family recreation front.

Anyway - just curious if anyone has mulled over similar thoughts.

Personally, my opinion is this. If the purpose of buying land is to hunt, I think it's a silly idea. Colorado is filled with public land hunting opportunities. However. You mentioned a young family and potentially building a cabin. This creates a different purpose for spending time with your family....In that sense, I think it is an excellent idea if the money is there. Good luck!

 

[bojangles808]

Take the money that you would spend on that land, invest it and take the dividends and go on 2-3 week long hunting trips every single year.


Owning land isn’t what everyone thinks it’s cracked up to be.

This is what I would do. Think of all the sweet trips you could go on

 

[TreeDux]

Really great feedback here guys - thank you. Even the cynical stuff, I get it.

Budget is around $300K - yes, I've been look for several months now and I get it, that's not going to get me the forested acres adjacent to the Arkansas river (or any waterway for that matter). Even when you think you've got a little penny, man, it's wild to be reminded of what's out there.

Anyway - some of the land I've been looking at is adjacent to public lands (typically BLM). The points about holding elk and mule deer are well taken. I was thinking that being adjacent to public land, considering migration patterns, might give a bit of a hedge.

> Do you live full or part time in Co/ NE? Here are a few things to think about: how often will you visit if it is over 2 hours away?

Yes, definitely trying to keep this manageable for driving - ~3-4 hours from the front range. I hope it's something to pack the kids in the car for long weekends once we've got a primitive cabin setup. Maybe we end up building it ourselves. Which gets at my point about trying to think about multi-use. I think that's where you start to measure more value, when you can justify these other enjoyments besides using the land for a few hunts in the fall each year.

And like @wlidwilderness said above - I'm also hesitant on this cheap land in the sagebrush areas. The GMUs sometimes have good harvest stats, but... visiting a property out in the SW covered in sagebrush and cactus is a bit limited on multi-use (for my hobbies, at least).

One other interesting point made above... I have looked into the farm lease angle (mostly property out east, and in NE). Don't get me wrong, always up for learning new things, but that feels pretty challenging to nail down property with a farmer whereas ranching leases are rather straightforward.

The farm lease should be just as straightforward as a ranch lease, maybe even more so. There is $X.00/acre/year with specific terms that you both agree to. If it’s halfway decent land the price per acre should be better than ranch leasing, and you don’t have to deal with fences. Potential tax advantages may be associated with either approach. Still plenty of variables but that’s the gist of it.

 

[cnelk]

To the OP

Last year I bought a chunk of land in Wyo and built a small cabin on it. (I actually bought it and built it for my granddaughter, and now soon to be grandson)

It doesn’t border public land but there are 1000s of acres of public land nearby and 100s of miles of trails to ride atvs.

There are deer (WT & MD), turkey, antelope and elk to be hunted.

It’s my dream come true.

Go get one